
This Copyright Case is “Bananas”
Bill Gates once famously said that “Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.” While the truth of that quote is questionable at best, it seems appropriate in light of a copyright case currently in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is between two companies, claiming copyright infringement over a banana costume. The plaintiff, Silvertop Associates, claims that the defendant, Kangaroo Manufacturing, sold a banana costume that was too similar to their own banana costume. The defendant claimed the plaintiff’s costume had no distinctive marks (i.e., sunglasses or brown spots). Therefore, the defendant claimed the plaintiff could not copyright a design based on a fruit found in nature. The plaintiff maintains it had a specific design for its banana, which the defendant copied. While the above…







